Across Time
by pseudonymous.writer.blogger
Summary: Character study, spanning from Silver Millennium to Crystal Tokyo. Three-parter. "How unfair fate is, destiny's absence of equity, duty's lack of empathy."
1. Part I

**Hi, guys! This is my first SM fanfic, and I won't reveal much about it because it's supposed to be surprising (just in this part).**

 **This is a character study, and only a three-parter based on events in the manga.**

 **It's complete, so I'll update daily.**

 **Enjoy, and review!**

* * *

It's the blue, she decides.

A dark blue, swirling behind unraveling painted whites, supporting rich greens and browns.

How beautiful. As if it were a gift; unwrapping its clouds and discovering both rough browns and soft greens coloring the dark blue waters with its vibrant, welcoming embrace.

She should not have looked.

It would have saved her from eternal damnation.

* * *

Not once does she think of it.

The absence. It is not silent where she stands, but the loneliness so heavy invents a vibrato of pure _emptiness_. She does not think of this.

If this is her destiny, so be it. If anything, this is the one truth the world provides.

Her thoughts always wander to the beautiful planet, of all things wild and free. She's older now, and she still thinks the clouds unravel, but instead of a present, it is a mystery; of beasts and magic and heroes and warriors. There's a story in the soil, from its core, and its trees carry the wind and the ground holds the planet itself-the planet has a _soul_.

She longs to meet it. She feels as though she already loves it.

She is already in love with it.

* * *

She is unsure what is happening.

There is a ball, or a party, or some sort of entertainment. She knows it because she hears it.

She likes to think she would wear blue, like the ocean. Or green-brown, like the land. White belongs to the purest, and if she were not gazing at the sea and the way the winds are beasts at one point and tame in the other, she would have thought she deserved to wear white. But she is not.

Standing beside the doorway, listening to the rhythm of the waltz thumping through the exquisitely carved designs, she pictures herself dancing with Earth's soul. Does he move like the tamed winds, or like the beast of the seas? Does he sing like the grass shaking in the wind, or rough like the soil beneath his fingertips?

Vaguely, she wonders whether others ponder over the beauty of the planet as she does. The Queen, the Guardians, or...

Behind her, the door opens, and she twirls around, surprised. Her eyes widen as she observes her companion, and her heart and her soul pounds for him immediately.

A young boy stands, a few years younger than herself, dark black hair slick with sweat, a bow tie messily pulled apart hanging from his neck, his tuxedo much too elegant for his age, dress pants drooping to the side, much too large. His cloak-it is black, like the color of the sea at night. Perhaps it is the tone of midnight; and his eyes are as endless as the depths of the ocean.

"Who are you?" asks the boy, a voice thick like the soft mud of Earth.

Her heart thumps. _This_ is the soul she has fallen in love with. She can feel it in his, lively and mysterious like the scent of the Earth, an emotion too hungry and powerful to put into words.

But.

But.

He cannot be here.

And the voice comes that reassures her that her destiny, her _unmei_ , has a high price to pay.

"Prince Endymion!" The Queen arrives, silk dress floating behind her, hand clutched in a fist to her chest. "You cannot be here, if anyone not of the Silver Millennium enters that doorway…"

Something inside her clicks, snaps; and she remembers her training. With a gasp, she drops to one knee, talisman straight in her hands, holding her still. " _Gomenasai_ , Queen Serenity. I was startled someone had come and opened the door so hidden in the palace. This ignorance will not occur again."

A breath. "That's alright. I will discuss this further with you later, but know that I understand your reaction. It's a miracle I came at the right time." The Queen laughs her light chuckle, elegant even in her relaxed state.

"Come, Prince Endymion. You must not wander through the palace unattended; where are your Shitennou?"

The murmured reply comes as they walk away, leaving her in her solitude at the door once again.

Her purple eyes were downcast, so she did not know what the Queen's expression is, but she knows it was of pity. The Queen has seen her, assigned her this position-no, _destiny_ appointed her for this role; and the Queen cannot imagine the willpower it takes to stay on guard in this place.

The place where silence weighs heavier than her heart.

The place where the isolation has only two solaces: the Silver Millennium family (their source of light and hope, after all) and the white wisps inviting onlookers into the deep sea of dark blue and fertile soil of Earth.

This is the place where light clouds of pink hues cover the storms and bends of time, where she stands at duty with her Garnet Rod (sometimes entertaining herself with its magic, flowers, surprises), where she must kill whoever trespasses into the roads of time, a violation of any law.

The Queen's voice was churning of pity and dripping with reluctance as she outlined the rules to her. The three Taboos.

She won't commit them, she decides.

After all, this is her duty: to stand at the guard alone, never to control time, never to travel it. With all her keys jingling against her waist, with all this power held in her hands in her talisman, she is never to use it unless in extreme purposes.

She is the goddess of time, the power and authority passed down from her father Chronos. She is Sailor Pluto.

And yet she is not the goddess of time, the controller and guardian of her powers.

This beautiful time and space; her longing to touch it, to travel through these shortcuts she has at her hands, to Earth, where her soul belongs and yearns to join with. But she cannot.

Is this destiny, too, then? That her power teases her, dangles the keys in front of her eyes, pops flowers and magic from her Garnet Rod, but never to let her use it? Is this a blessing or a curse?

And the boy. His soul, so rich; his eyes, such a dark blue of the sea, captivating and drowning her in its depths. She longs for him, this prince of Earth-what was it? Prince Endymion?

Endymion.

Endymion. She smiles. She will remember that name.

* * *

It's not breaking Taboo. Of course not.

It's observing.

Her Garnet Rod, she discovers, can be used to cross space and watch without leaving her place at the time door. In the Orb, she can see Endymion as both of them mature, grow taller and older. And she falls in love without ever leaving her station.

His eyes, his warrior's cloak and uniform, growing up with his Shitennou (she knows all their names by now: Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite), learning to lead his planet; his own soul, in effect. She admires him ardently, because it was Earth she fell in love with, and he embodies the planet brightly.

However, she feels he is no match for her own princess, as she observes her as well. Princess Serenity (though loud and childish at times) lifts souls into a breathtaking delight of hope. Happiness and joy are too different to be compared. What her Princess brings is joy and hope. What the Prince brings is happiness, a temporary oasis from the loneliness.

Soon, they all grow old, and her green hair is long and free, ranging down to the tops of her black boots. They are strong (at least, her and Endymion; the Princess, she is not sure, but eventually, her time will come; she can feel it in her bones), and she has beaten more than a few trespassers coming her way.

Her duty is acceptable, as long as watching from afar is enough right now. She is certain they are soulmates. The Earth is so far away from Pluto; but who is to say they are not kindred spirits?

But, she learns later, she did not pay attention.

If she had, perhaps it would have lessened the pain of eternal damnation.

* * *

She watches as they fall in love. As Princess Serenity travels freely to Earth (wreaking havoc among her four Guardians), as they lock eyes, as they fall deeply and irreparably for each other and eventually in each other's embraces, she watches.

At first, there's shock.

Then, there's ridicule.

Did she really think they would ever have a chance to see each other again? Did she ever truly entertain the thought of him falling in love with her, or ever speaking to her?

 _Stop dreaming._

This is her destiny.

To guard the door of time and halt any disruption of time and space and eliminate those who threaten the past, present, and future.

 _This_ , and only this, and nothing more.

No Endymion. No Earth.

She is never to leave her post.

He is never allowed here.

Since when was fate so cruel? Princess Serenity, in this way, is just like her: fascinated by the lovely planet of white, blue, green, brown; the colors of the white blending with the dark blue, swirling in a mass of inviting destruction; the blue, so dark, deep, drowning in its temptation; the crust of the rough Earth enticing her to grab on and filter the soil through her hands. They both fell in love with Earth and the man with its soul.

She envies such freedom. Somehow, she prays for it not to last, because she, too, has fallen irrevocably in love.

But then-she can look, can't she?

But.

That's Taboo.

But.

They broke their laws, did they not? Humans of the Earth and humans of the Moon...is that not Taboo for them?

She closes her eyes, denying this dark desire, this selfish yearning. This is not her destiny, her fate, her duty…

Oh, damn those words! She wants to scream out into the heavy silence, but she knows no one will hear her. No one ever does, ever will. So her fingers close around a key on her belt, feeling its cold metal and the roughness of the rigid edges. Her body moves to its own accord, to its own mind, and her conscience screams at her not to use it, it's Taboo; but this is her choice.

How unfair fate is, destiny's absence of equity, duty's lack of empathy.

She breaks the first Taboo. At the moment, there is no regret. For the first time, she sees her power at its work. For the first time, she _sees_.

* * *

The anger, adrenaline, and anticipation dies soon. The future is not what she wanted it to be.

She should not have seen this. No, this should not have been seen.

This future...this is not for them; no, her Prince and Princess deserve much more than this deception.

And like before, she watches.

As some deceptive gypsy lures the Shitennou away, as Endymion protests because of his soul's righteousness, as they rebel against the Moon Kingdom, as Endymion dies protecting Princess Serenity, and from her anguish, she drives a sword into her heart.

The bloodshed makes her stumble as she sees her fellow Guardians, bodies strewn across the marble palace steps, dead. Jupiter, succumbing from wounds to the knees and finally, the stomach, lying face down next to Mercury, slain from a slash to the abdomen. Mars and Venus are dead above them, blood seeping out from various wounds; too many to count and too much blood to trace the origins to which wounds.

Pluto drops to her knees, shaking as the scene changes.

The Queen, crying; deciding to seal Artemis and Luna away, telling them their mission and her plan. Using the last of her energy to restore Earth and send all of them there, hoping for a better life without restrictions for her daughter. Closing her eyes. Dying.

Death reeks on the Moon, a scent never introduced to its peaceful glow before. The last Guardian, Saturn, raising her Silence Glaive; producing a heavier, horrible silence than at her station.

She sees them, throughout Earth's ever shifting and yet repeating history; they try at forbidden love, but somehow one of them dies, and the other cannot live without the other. Somehow, they think it better to die than live in torturous conditions without the other. Sometimes, they are Romeo and Juliet; other times, they are Cleopatra and Antony.

She watches in anguish and remorse, as her Prince and her Princess fail and die over and over again in a sick pattern of reincarnation and fate's intervention. Her quivering hands cover her mouth from sobbing.

But then-a new image passes by. The 20th century; the end of it. And she watches, as they meet again and fall in love; but now, she is a soldier and the enemy-their old enemy, of deception and bloodshed, attacks. She sees the birth of Sailor Moon and their first awakening in thousands of years. She sees how the truth pines away at her, but now, instead of falling, she perseveres. Her Princess is now a soldier, not a child. She will go on.

She sees as the final battle approaches, and sacrifices are made, and Queen Metallia is at last defeated. Peace is achieved. Through her tears, Pluto is relieved.

The vision stops.

Pluto cries, sobs, collapses on the floor as any last bits of her joy and her jealousy dissipates.

Such violence, pain, horrid events in the future.

But there is one hope.

Sailor Moon.

* * *

 **There's be more soon. Hope you're intrigued.**


	2. Part II

**Hey, guys! Tha** **nks for the review and reads...hopefully there's more this time.**

 **Here is the second part, continuing our journey thus far...**

* * *

The time came, as it always did.

Saturn lowers down her talisman, and it is silent.

Then her place shifts, and it's a whirlwind of time and space; and confusion rips into her soul and she thinks, _Is this supposed to happen?_

She's drifting off into the wind, but there isn't supposed to be wind here, and the pink clouds turn dark and the ground beneath her curls and shudders and it _hurts_ , because _she_ , Pluto, is time and space, the one who controls it in her hands, and its confusion and madness seeps into her bones, her chest. In the midst of it all is time. How does it reset itself, in the event of their Princess and Queen dying?

Space wraps around her in its crushing embrace, scars her arms, boils her insides, her green hair sprawled about her, her knees and elbows squeezed beneath space's anguish and anger; and it is _excruciating_ , and all she can think of is what love was and what love will be and what love will never be.

As a goddess, she has much to learn. Her father, Chronos, has much to teach her still; and yet she is entrusted with this post, and she has _failed_. _What is this? What am I supposed to do?_

What does her Princess, her Queen always do?

 _Pray_. _Pray, Pluto, pray._

In the midst of her pain, the electrifying torture of insanity, she obeys this booming, unknown voice, and yells, "Father, Chronos! Grant me the power to control time and space, teach me the ways of the universe! Strengthen my power and give me your wisdom! To save this world!"

Her voice cracks from the screaming, the words _kono sekai_ echoing across the land, and she pleads as her breath is almost wasted from the pain, when the warped ground has almost folded her into a cocoon and she can feel the end of time is near, " _Onegai._ "

Her hand clutches her talisman. Somehow, it raises itself, her along with it; and her Garnet Orb glows with brilliance like it never has. With a gasp, the pain subsides, and the ground stops shaking and quivering underneath its own pain.

Her talisman is her anchor, and she stands slowly in its grasp. Her arm juts out, and out of her mouth tumbles, "Time! Start!"

She is as surprised as time is, and the ground stabilizes with a jolt, the black subsides to gray, and then returns to the pink clouds of time and the exquisite doors that hold it. Turning around, she finds herself next to the time door of the Silver Millennium, where she was before.

 _Open the door, Sailor Pluto._

Blinking at the voice, she obeys (as if Taboo matters any longer) because this is the voice that saved her; the ringing tone slightly familiar.

White, pure light escapes as she inches it open, talisman before her in a fighting stance.

And like someone asked her many years ago, she says sternly, "Who are you?"

Out of the light comes a figure familiar to her, much too familiar: Endymion; but his hair is lavender and he wears a cloak, not as dark as the planet's night, but as light as the dawn that rises above the oceans of his eyes.

"Hello, Sailor Pluto. You have come from our past lives, reincarnated; however, unlike the other Senshi, you have come directly to the 30th century."

His voice is majestic, and she can't remember when he ever spoke to her. She can't breathe in this excitement, and she longs to touch him, this Prince of Earth, whose soul she fell in love with and his planet.

But.

But.

A figure appears beside him, with a long, white dress, pure and clothed in holiness. The figure steps forward, and Endymion looks at her with a look of pure admiration.

Princess Serenity.

She snaps to attention, kneeling down and grasping her talisman for steadiness. Somehow, her scars and wounds from the struggle with time and space ache more. "Pluto," her voice says, and footsteps come closer, and her finger touches Pluto's forehead, where her planet's symbol is, the mark of Pluto.

At first, there's stillness. Then, clarity.

And she sees everything, of time and space and matter and people, of death and the souls of the Underworld, screaming for her help, for her protection, or for resurrection; she sees the journey of Sailor Moon, her countless battles, her various transformations along with the four Inner Senshi: Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus; she sees Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion in the Crystal Palace of Tokyo. Their _child_ , named Small Lady because she is unable to grow.

They share smiles of love. Of surprise. Of relief.

But never with her, no, no.

Because fate, the same magic that brought her Prince and Princess together, is the same weapon used the wedge Endymion and Pluto apart.

Fate, then, is a blessing and a curse, like her taunting power and her jangling keys.

But it is not over. An unfamiliar sight: a woman, a Senshi, more powerful and pure than any other, a star as her mark atop her forehead, holding a large white staff with a winged orb at the top. She wears a white cloak hiding brilliant, large wings, a holy aura surrounding her; gold wings around the sleeves of her uniform and a skirt of various colors beneath the white, ribbons straying from the middle, where her mark also lays. A name appears in the depths of her mind.

 _Sailor Cosmos_.

The vision stills, and she understands.

Pluto has never understood time before this, too distracted by the planet of mystery and richness and its soul. (And its keeper's soul.)

Now, Pluto is the goddess of time and space; the power of its trembling ground and its soothing promise that things will go on, as long as Pluto is there. She has the power to tame space and to see the past, present, and future (to her, they are all occurring at the same time); to guard this power that will distort the hearts of men and space itself, and ruin the powers of time, forcing it to stop in confusion.

She breathes in this knowledge, this awakening; and now, she is Sailor Pluto, the Senshi and Guardian of Space and Time and of the Underworld.

Neo-Queen Serenity is her savior; the voice commanding her what to do, what to say. " _Arigatou_ ," she bows, and she wonders what she is supposed to feel: jealousy or love. "For directing me, Queen."

"No," the Queen says with a smile. "It was not I who saved you, but rather your instinct. You have been awakened to the full extent of your powers, to knowing the forms and times of myself, your fellow Senshi, and King Endymion. You have always had this potential, this power inside you. It was just a matter of time."

She nods, speechless at this transaction of words; the Princess-rather, now, Neo-Queen Serenity, has never exchanged this long a conversation before. In fact, they have never interacted.

Thus, she remembers her training, and stays one kneel on the ground before her.

A lighthearted chuckle resounds about the hallway between her sacred land and the Crystal Palace. "Please, Pluto, be at ease. From what you have seen, you must know we are old friends."

 _But not yet. I am the Pluto of the present, am I not?_

She refrains from saying anything that would sound like venom and jealousy, because despite her yearning, she loves her Queen with all her might; the source of her hope and life.

Sailor Pluto stands with her Garnet Rod, a new Senshi; reborn and replaced at the time door of 30th century Tokyo, the center of the future.

"It is an honor to meet you, Neo-Queen Serenity." And it is. To say this to the woman she loves and admires dearly is not difficult.

But the hardest part of it all is turning to the man next to her precious Queen, and saying the same. "And you, as well, King Endymion."

The King and Queen smile, and she sees that they are one. That there is nothing she can do about it.

"Sailor Pluto, my mother's orders still live on today. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about it. However, your destiny is your choice." The Queen smiles, and her heart aches as she replies breathlessly, "Yes, Queen."

The Queen has no idea how painful her words are, who untruthful her last sentence is. She is innocent (or rather ignorant) to the darkness of fate, of anguish and pain of duty. Pluto's destiny was never her choice-to stand guard in isolation, cut from the one she fell in love with, the soul of Earth.

 _Her_ dreams _were_ her destinies. She can love and kiss and hug and talk freely to the King of Earth, the carrier of its soul, the scent of fresh dew atop wet grass, the wavering, dark, deep oceans in his eyes.

Sailor Pluto cannot.

As if this could be worse, as if this meeting can hurt more, as if this can erase the wounds she has accumulated from the violence space and time had given her and make her heart slowly dissipate in this utopia that is her personal hell of envy and anger at destiny and duty; but yes. Yes.

King Endymion extends his hand in a manner of greeting, and she takes it.

She loses himself in his eyes, and she can smell the scent of ground and the ocean as his hand warms against hers and the heat travels up and down her spine, spreading to her soul; and her wounds heal, physically.

 _He does not remember..._

Her eyes widen at the sight, and her cheeks warm. She hopes to her father Chronos they cannot see it.

He lets go, and she finds herself craving for his warmth like never before.

Endymion smiles shyly and replies to her bewildered expression, "I have the power of psychometry. I can heal others, and see their dreams."

She stutters back (hopefully not as loud as it seems to her), " _Arigatou_ , King."

 _Can you see my dreams? Can you not see that this has been my dream all along?_

* * *

She remains faithful at her post.

Always.

Unwavering determination and loyalty.

Like a guard dog.

Pluto would have thought that. But not her, the her she is today. Sailor Pluto embraces her duties as goddess of space and time, and instead of the heavy silence she felt suffocating her in her past life, the pink clouds and silver doors are beautiful; space is an object she can hold within her palm, and treasure like time should be treasured.

Now that she has fully awakened, she understands: she can never leave her station. She must eliminate all threats, no matter who (she has encountered several imposters before, deceivers). The consequences if she does not fulfill her duties would be dire; and the blame of the fall of the world would be on her.

The circumstances of her situation, her destiny, as made her hard. Cold, even. The solitary takes a toll on everyone, she sees. Even her.

She sees everything. Watches everything.

This is what her father, Chronos, has given her. A life full of obligation and duty, a power to be taken pride of. Except this is also a life of misery and loneliness, of a silence as heavy as her heart.

She's happy when intruders come. The excitement of battle, perhaps, has also been passed down from her father. Then she defeats them with, "Dead Scream!" and the silence returns.

Her attack comes from the souls of the Underworld, where men scream for resurrection, for life and women cry for another chance, another day, another look at their loved ones. There is a difference. But their screams are the same: helpless cries that crack with anguish, gnawing at her heart as she hears them through her Garnet Orb when an intruder attacks.

She knows the days to the minute; and not once does he come in two hundred twenty years.

At times, alone, in the land of sacred time doors, Sailor Pluto wonders if she has a heart.

At times, alone, in the land of the gap between space and time, Sailor Pluto wonders what other pasts destiny could have granted her, and why it chose a life in solitary and the absence of the chance to fight alongside her Queen, Sailor Moon.

At times, alone, in the land of the margin between insanity and sanity, Sailor Pluto wonders what love truly is: an expression through hands, lips, words, and eyes or a far away look of admiration and longing.

Most times, alone, in the land of her burden and her isolation, _Pluto_ wonders if he even remembers meeting her, if he knows she is in love with him and his planet, if he pities her.

Two hundred twenty years is a very long time.

But when he does come, it is not for her. And by then, she has no problem with that.

The door opens with a crack of mystery. Pluto's heart thumps with joy and excitement. Someone has come to visit her. Perhaps it will be like years ago, and she will fall in love with a thrilling rush followed by the pain of duty, when a boy opened the door to ask, "Who are you?"

But when it opens, it reveals a small girl, with pink hair the color of the clouds, and red, innocent eyes. She smells of both the purity of the Moon and the winds of Earth. She is their daughter, a laugh in her face at her isolation, her loneliness, her love-if anything she dares to call love is truly love.

But this girl...she looks lonely. She can feel it reeking from her bones, her lost face, her wavering eyes.

Small Lady.

She kneels down like she once did two hundred twenty years ago and greets this girl, the symbol of what she was cheated of by fate.

"It is nice to meet you, Small Lady," she says, softer than she's ever spoken before.

"You know who I am?" Small Lady questions, whispers with uncertainty. "Or are you just greeting me to be polite?"

Her voice is sad and lonely.

Just like Pluto's.

Her heart swells for this girl, this mere girl who had to be the daughter of Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion, thrown in the way of _their_ fate and of _their_ destiny; ruining and binding others to themselves, unable to be free from the duty and the weight of the world.

Just like Pluto.

She accesses the moments of time inside the girl, and sees everything: her loneliness, her lack of power, her mother's negligence, and yet love; her father's love. Her _father's_ love-the love she has been yearning for her entire life. And yet the loneliness outweighs it.

Would that have happened to Pluto, had she received the love she had wanted?

Would the loneliness outweigh the love, and the balance be shattered beyond compare; that with love, the loneliness be heavier and the love be more desperate?

This child…

This child is so lonely.

Her heart feels empty. Her chest aches so harshly that it feels hollow.

"Only those of the Silver Millennium can enter here," Sailor Pluto explains. "My name is Sailor Pluto. I am the Guardian of this Door."

She feels herself smile, strangely.

"And you," she pokes the child's nose, "are the splitting image of your beautiful mother, the Queen."

She feels no hatred saying this. No, she is not angry at either Queen nor King. No, her hatred is toward destiny, the one who places both Small Lady and Pluto in their stations, cast away into a mirage of loneliness, in a sacred land.

Small Lady looks surprised at the statement, and purses her lips like Tsukino Usagi has done many times, as she's seen. It's enough to make her lips curve upward.

"Small Lady, whenever you're sad," she says, and longs to tell her _Come to me_ , but such behavior would be forbidden by the Queen, most likely. Small Lady has much to learn before she grows. But she will promise the girl this: "You should say the magic phrase, 'Abracadabra!', and you'll feel a lot happier."

She will provide the girl something no one has ever given to Pluto herself before.

"Abracadabra?" Small Lady tries.

Love.

Out of the Garnet Rod springs a bouquet of flowers and a cat-robot that squeals, "Small Lady!" The excitement projecting from her face is delightful, and Pluto smiles a full grin for the first time in her life.

"She looks like Luna, Diana's mama!" Small Lady says, picking up and hugging the robot. Her eyes settle on the object of its creation.

"Wow! Pluto, what is that?"

She chuckles, as she says it, unable to say the _L_ in her name. When was the first time she ever chuckled? Was it when she was a child, like Small Lady?

"This is my Garnet Rod," she winks, proud, for once, her talent is not a curse that brings screams from the Underworld. "I use it to control my powers as a Guardian, Princess."

A look of admiration Pluto has seen from her father sweeps over the child's face. "My Mama has a really cool rod that she carries too," a faraway expression etched into her eyes. "She uses it to control the Ginzuishou. They say it makes miracles happen."

Again, the loneliness and guilt for not being able to be the Queen wafts into Pluto's sight, and she sees the hours alone, crying into her bed; then she sees her mother kissing her nose, her cheeks, her head when Small Lady is asleep. Pluto sees a wisp of a tear across her cheek, but the vision quickly dissipates. Pluto tries her best to smile thinly.

"And since you are the Queen's daughter, soon it will be your responsibility to make miracles happen, too," she reassures; because she's seen it before: her King's name will be Helios, and her daughter's name will be Hotaru Serenity.

The door opens, cutting Small Lady's puzzled face short. Lavender cloak, dark eyes. _He_ steps in, and she remembers it has been two hundred and twenty years, but somehow, it no longer matters at such a grand weight as it once did.

"Papa!" she cries, and runs and jumps into his arms.

He smiles teasingly, hoisting the small girl up his shoulders, and scolds, "Just where did you think you were going?"

Oh, and it is so terrifyingly _easy_ to pretend.

To pretend they are in love.

To pretend the last two hundred and twenty years went by like a breeze in the sacred land of time and space.

To pretend the King and Pluto are kindred spirits.

Nothing could be further from the truth, Sailor Pluto sees.

"King," she smiles excitedly. "Small Lady and I were just imagining what her future will be like. You're all right now, aren't you, Princess? Now that you've got Luna-P with you." She gestures to the toy in her hands.

The child nods, grinning broadly. Her father manages a sly smile as well. "That's right. _Arigatou_ , Pluto."

She blushes, and her heart races as they bid her farewell; then Small Lady waves from her father's shoulders, " _Arigatou_ , _Puu_!"

Pluto _laughs_ as the door closes, waving back.

Small Lady.

She remembers a thought she made a lifetime ago, when her wishes were ones that fought against destiny, duty, and fate; when her wishes were cruel and taunting, as her power is; when Sailor Pluto was Pluto. _The Earth is so far away from Pluto; but who is to say they are not kindred spirits?_

She stands at the door, waiting for the next time she meets the soul Pluto loves, certain she will come again.

* * *

"Pluto! I love you! You're my only friend…"

 _And you, as well, Small Lady._

She doesn't dare utter those words.

Who knew the soul who gave her kisses and hugs was not the soul she fell in love with, and yet she is satisfied beyond compare?

* * *

"Pluto, has Small Lady been a nuisance? Is it really okay for her to be going all by herself to see you? It isn't interfering with your guard duties, is it?"

She looks to her Queen, not with jealousy, but with love and a yearning for that innocence. Her Queen does not know what loneliness is. She's envious of such vision.

"No, Queen. Never."

* * *

 **Aaah, Chibiusa has arrived! You guys can guess what's coming in the third part...**


	3. Part III

**Hey, guys! This is the last part of the series; and hopefully you've enjoyed every step and journey we've taken with ourbeloved Sailor Pluto, Guardian of the Underworld, Space, and Time; daughter of Chronos and Protector of the Space-Time Door.**

 **Though she's not my favorite Senshi (Mars is-she's the Senshi that fires such a short temper as I do), she has always fascinated and intrigued me. So, when characters boggle my mind and make me _imagine_ , I write.**

 **And here it is.**

* * *

The time comes, as it always does, but this time, a large black crystal creates an explosion that shakes the Earth, as well as the time-space continuum.

The moment of black panic attacks when she thinks of her friend, her only friend. Small Lady.

Her knuckles are white against the Garnet Rod as she stares down at the clouds, tears forming underneath her wide eyes.

 _Is her only friend dead?_

 _My only friend…_

" _Pluto! I love you! You're my only friend."_

Her chest hurts at the thought; but she cannot, will not abandon her post.

Yes, someday her Queen will wake, and yes, someday the King, her fellow Guardians, and Small Lady will resurrect by the Queen's power; but how long will that take? How many more long years?

Gritting her teeth, she stands at her post until the clarity of her vision returns, blinking the tears away. Small Lady is alive. She can feel it.

 _I love you, too, Small Lady._

The door opens at someone's touch.

"Puu!" sobs a girl, launching into Pluto's arms, surprised and relieved.

"Princess…"

Two lonely girls embrace between sacred lands, one holy and pure and of crystal, the other hidden and bloodied with the wounds of intruders and the Guardian herself.

"How did you...?"

"Gomene, Pluto!" Small Lady cries, and there is a flash of pink dust and mist, blurring her vision like the clouds of time; and a tug rips at her skirt.

"Small Lady!" she warns, because it's dangerous-the consequences and repercussions of time travel, wherever the girl thinks she's going, are massive and incomprehensible. But she heeds no warning.

The darkness, as she collapses onto the clouds from a toy of her own making. She curses fate to bring them to this; once again, she curses fate.

* * *

When she returns to consciousness, it's to a projection of the King shaking her awake.

"Pluto!" he yells, and her eyes open in panic. How long was she out? Were there any intruders?

No, she would have felt it.

"Where is Small Lady?" His eyes are infected with panic, and soon it envelops her, as well.

"She...she stole a key after the explosion. I have no idea where she went."

" _Puu? What are those keys for?"_

" _These are used to control time, Small Lady. You can open the doors to any time period with this key. However, time travel is strictly forbidden. It is the ultimate Taboo."_

"A key?" the King inquires, deep in thought. "She must have...she must have gone to her."

A puzzled look crosses her face. "Her?"

"Her mother," he clarifies, and he is so close to her. "Sailor Moon, the 20th century."

Pluto breathes a sigh of relief. "Sailor Moon will take care of her, then. It's dangerous here, is it not?" His eyes are a deep blue that entices her, a mirage of hope and light that she has yearned for since the beginning of time. "What has happened, King?"

Endymion sigh heavily. "I am nearly dead, in the next room. I am but a projection from my body, resting. The Four Guardians...Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus...they are asleep, as well."

The shock absorbs with force. Something she did not foresee, nor cared to look. One would think the Queen's reign would be peaceful and uneventful; but that is not the case. "And the Queen?"

He swallows, and she can see his Adam's apple bobbing with nervous uncertainty, with fear, with love. He smells of the Earth, and she is reminded of the day, thousands of years ago, when a small boy opened her door as a premonition of his entrance into the Silver Millennium family.

"It seems...the Ginzuishou has disappeared."

"Disappeared?!"

"The explosion created by the black crystal directly hit the Four Guardians and I, and the Queen's body reacted violently. She sleeps in a crystallized encasement, waiting for the time she will awaken."

Her body is flush with anxiety and rushing energy, ready to fight when necessary. When desperate. Not to be trapped in a sacred land of privilege and curse.

"King," she begins, but is strongly interrupted.

"No, Pluto," he replies, putting his gloved hand up. "We are counting on _you_ to guard this door. If the enemies see that Small Lady has gone back in time, they can potentially ruin Crystal Tokyo by killing not only my daughter, but Sailor Moon. You know drastic consequences will result."

Pluto blushes. _We are counting on you, Pluto._

He is so powerful and moving, his soul is so fluid and warm that it is so easy. Oh, it is too easy. To fall back into the rabbit hole, pulling her down day after day, year after year, in a cycle of forgetting, remembering, falling, and pain.

Before this, her solace was when their child came to ease both their loneliness.

Before that, her bitterness made her hard, cold. Unsympathetic.

Before that, her innocence was raw and burning.

Without her solace, without the harsh bitter soul she gave away for Small Lady, her innocence blazes into her flesh, seeps into her soul and her bones, ignites her desire.

"Yes, King." With a sweep of her green hair, she kneels on the floor, obedient; talisman at the ready. "I will protect this sacred land so no harm comes to Small Lady or Sailor Moon, our Queen; and when the time comes (as it always does), when the Queen awakens, I will call Small Lady back to this time period."

"Thank you, Sailor Pluto," he praises, with a hint of pride in his voice-or is it hope?-and returns inside. Before he leaves, before the sweep of lavender disappears into the light behind them, he says, "If you need anything, call Diana. She will help as much as she can."

The door closes, and Pluto stands up, a Warrior, but blushing in her heart and soaring in her mind. She falls in love with souls of the wild, free Earth, of the oceans and winds and valleys and rivers, rich in life and beautiful from afar. Now she wonders if she's been granted the chance to view its glory up close.

* * *

It is seven days, two hours, thirty-one minutes before a silver light attracts her attention. It has been peaceful (no-rather, it has been quiet), and no Black Moon Clan members have invaded the time-space continuum. Either they have found new power to deliver them to the present, or they have not invaded the twentieth century.

Either way, their faith in Sailor Moon is true and fulfilling. She will provide, because she is the future Queen. Sailor Pluto has seen it.

The brightness bounces into her vision, like the doorway to the sacred castle behind her, but Pluto has had imposters before. And this time, she must be on high alert-she will not tolerate any who attempt to pass the sacred land. For the sake of the future, the present, the past. For Small Lady.

Three figures step into the light, the length of two doors from Pluto, the brightness coming from the middle person's chest.

" _Machinasai_! You've gone far enough!" she yells, her Garnet Rod clenched in her possession. "You may not proceed from here."

They are: Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, and Tuxedo Kamen.

She hides her shock. She has had imposters before, but never this confused nor bright.

Never ones who smell of the Earth, who has his eyes, his cloak.

But she _must_ treat them as enemies, for they most likely are. This is her destiny, her duty, her fate. Sailor Pluto must not shirk.

"Those who attempt to violate the law," she says, remembering Queen Serenity's words, holding her talisman up and sliding her hand to one foot from the bottom of the staff, " _will_ be destroyed!"

 _Small Lady._

If they are imposters, then there is a small possibility Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, and the Sailor Senshi have been invaded. There is a possibility Small Lady has been murdered.

 _I love you, my only friend._

These people, then, must be punished.

"Dead Scream!" Anger hotly pushes through her veins, through her bones, into the staff; and "Sailor Moon" falls down from the heat of the painful, screaming souls.

The face of her Queen is in anguish, and her heart almost breaks at the sight. But Pluto must keep strength, she must keep stern-Small Lady may be dead, after all. What is left but the loneliness of unrequited love and the chains of duty?

"Sailor Moon, whoever it is-I cannot allow anyone to break our taboo." Usually, by this time, she has already been able to access the enemy's memories, time, places; but not this imposter. Strange. Usually, she is filled with pity at the sight of her, of disgust or fear of her own life. But not this girl. Who is she, truly?

"It appears it is my _fate_ to destroy you," she says solemnly. Whoever this criminal is, she was forced into this labor, this cycle of destruction, and now it is her fate to kill her. Sailor Pluto raises her weapon, preparing the words, "Chronos Typhoon!" as her finishing blow-

" _Mate_! Sailor Pluto!"

This voice…

Light and carefree like the clouds of Earth and its gentle breeze, her miniature frame jumps into her arms.

She smells the red clay and grass, the salty breeze of sea. Small Lady.

Pluto wants to laugh, cry, scream at this girl; in the end, she settles with none, but gasp with relief. "Small Lady!"

She blabbers on, but all Pluto cares about is that her loved one is _alive_ , that the soul she now loves still exists, and is here and warm in her arms. "You're wrong about them! I can't let you kill them! _Gomene_ , I broke my promise to you, but there was no other way, I _had_ to bring them with me, I had to, Puu!"

"Small Lady!" she scolds. "Where have you been this whole time?" She feels tears rising up in her throat, and she wonders what she would have done if Small Lady had been murdered. She shudders at the thought.

She looks ashamed, like she committed a crime yet to be revealed. "I traveled to the past in order to find the legendary soldier, Sailor Moon, so that I could use the power of her _Ginzuishou_ , which is stronger than my own."

Dangerous. Even more dangerous than the Black Moon Clan.

" _Sailor Pluto."_

" _Yes, Queen?"_

" _The past, present, and future Ginzuishous must not be in contact with one another. Such power connected will lead to terrible destruction, the ending of time itself. There will be nothing you can do."_

She puts on a stern, unwavering look in her eyes to hide the pain of the worry. She has never experienced a mother's pain before. "But the power of the _Ginzuishou_ never diminishes, no matter what time period it is in. And on top of that, you know you can't use either as it stands. You broke your promise to me, stole the time key, and on top of that, went travelling to the past!"

The child's eyes close in despair, in guilt and shame. " _Puu, do you think Mama's angry with me? Is that why she tells me to behave this way and that way, and she never gives me hugs or kisses?"_

" _No, Small Lady. Your mother loves you; love is not only displayed in hugs or kisses."_

Pluto picks the girl up and to her chest, remembering the conversation. _All we are is worried of you. Because we love you, Small Lady._ "I'm just glad you are safe, Small Lady. Don't make me worry about you like that ever again."

If there is one thing that makes Small Lady happy, it is when someone regards her as a Princess, as her mother's child. She bows down, talisman holding her steady like she has done to many of the Silver Millennium family. "Please forgive me of my insolence, Princess."

A faint smile crosses her face as the two Princesses bicker in front of her. She remembers the time her Queen was an innocent, childish girl; when her dreams were still hopeful and she dreamt of the Earth and its soul. In a way, she still does. Not as much as she used to. She found a kindred spirit of the Earth for her loneliness.

She moves her Garnet Rod out of their way, pressing it to the floor in front of the Space-Time Door, opening it to the silver light of Small Lady's home. "I will allow you to pass."

"Usagi, it's this way," Small Lady instructs, as if she were not her mother, but her sister. Pluto can tell Small Lady has grown to love Sailor Moon, as they all have. She chuckles to herself.

But Sailor Moon turns back, and inquires, "Sailor Pluto?" _Aren't you coming with us?_ are the unspoken words.

Some things never change.

Like Neo-Queen Serenity, Sailor Moon does not understand the loneliness of warfare in this sacred, solitary land. Yes, she does not expect it, but Pluto suspects she never will understand this sacrifice.

Wearing a weary face, she explains, "I can never leave my station. So please, protect Small Lady for me."

The door closes behind them, and she waits as Sailor Moon discovers her Prince is hers forever more.

* * *

"Sailor Pluto has the longest lifespan out of any of us. She has lived through many eras. Her judgement and wisdom is better than any soldier. Be sure to take advantage the skills and assets she brings to your team."

Her blush is so hot, she almost smiles at him, only to realize she had looked at him through every word.

Lavender, the color of dawn and gray skyline, the hue of royalty; but his eyes have never changed, and neither has his soul. They still manage to entice her further down the rabbit hole. She falls again and again without even knowing. Is it inevitable for her heart to chase after a fate unknown to her?

Her friend comes again, and worry attacks her once again.

"Small Lady? What happened?" Did something happen to Sailor Moon and Venus? To Endymion?

She runs to her, Luna-P safely tucked in her arms. She wears the innocent, lonely look she wore the first day the door opened at her touch. "I'm safe...Can I stay with you, Pluto?"

" _Pluto?"_

" _Yes, Princess?"_

" _You're my friend, right? Even though I look like this…"_

" _Small Lady, I promise you. We are always friends."_

They are both lonely and doubtful of what others call love, but take for granted. "You're a good girl, Small Lady." Her pink hair is soft underneath her fingertips as she ruffles them, Small Lady's frown quirking upwards, only for a second.

 _Say it_ , she tells herself. Before it's too late, because there is a chance both of them could die from this enemy.

"I love you, you know."

* * *

"Pluto."

Her heart quickens. These times of trouble, is it a blessing or a curse?

"With Sailor Moon in the enemy's lair, we are in the worst possible scenario." His voice is rich and heavy, and though she knows he is always thinking of his beloved, she finds it far too easy to pretend.

"Please lend your powers to Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Venus."

A blessing, for him to acknowledge her; or a curse, that her Queen lays in a crystal coffin, and the city is in chaos?

" _I'm counting on you_."

Is it both, like her Garnet Rod and her visions of time? Is that what fate gave her? An indecisive destiny coupled with its destroying duty?

"Yes, my King. Of course."

* * *

A dropped key. A startling shock, shaking the nerves of her body.

 _Small Lady._

Sailor Pluto feels the disruption echoing through the clouds, thumping through time like a heartbeat-she has taken a path...without a key.

"Small Lady?!"

She heeds no warning.

She has never felt black panic before this moment: the fact that one she loves might be gone in the midst of a time storm, the distortions caused by the enemy apparent and dangerous.

Small Lady is in danger.

She runs to behind the door, searching, looking for the key where her heart tells her-she finds it, on the ground, abandoned. _Small Lady!_

She tries to call to her as if she had such powers, but praying to the Moon, to her father their connection is power enough-the sacred land shakes and its tranquility shatters; and, like the loss of the Princess thousands of years ago, the pink clouds of time turn dark and a storm ensues.

Electrifying pain, once again, runs through her veins, infecting her blood with hot, seething anguish. If space and time fall, then she must also die. If space and time stop flowing, then her heart and blood must also cease to pump.

This is her fault. She was appointed to guard her Princess, not to let herself or the Queen or the King down…

Those she loves, she must protect; she _must stand guard_. Danger surrounds her connection to her beloved, and Small Lady has never felt so distant than before…

 _King...I failed you, King Endymion..._

Darkness, as she descends from the pain and onto the dark clouds before the Space-Time Door of the 30th century. She curses fate to bring them to this; once again, she curses fate.

* * *

She wakes, again, to the King shaking her awake. This time, to both the present and the future ones.

She wakes, again, to dark blue eyes clouded with worry; to the smell of the Earth wafting through her nose. _Small Lady_ is her thoughts after falling again.

To have his arms around her, ushering her awake; to have his eyes full of concern-it's all she's ever wanted. But that is not her duty.

"Small Lady has vanished into space-time without a key!" _It's my fault._ "I saw her...she…something terrible…"

The younger version of Earth's soul stands, impulsive. "Chibiusa is on the other side of this storm." He runs through, disappearing; and she yells for him, for if she lost one, then she cannot lose another.

"Tuxedo Kamen! Come back! You cannot go through without a key!" _Damn it!_

 _Small Lady...Endymion...Prince, King, Tuxedo Kamen, whichever form…_

Both souls are warm against her chest, are hot with desire in her heart; and she yearns to be with them, though Sailor Pluto is bound to her destiny, chained to the Space-Time door in this sacred land of blood and sweat and tears.

She longs to cry, to collapse in the King's arms, beside her; but that is not for her. No.

She is the Senshi, Sailor Pluto. She will fight because it is her duty and her obligation to save mankind.

She searches for a place, a way to use her powers against this storm of destruction and finds one answer: Sailor Moon.

* * *

And Sailor Moon comes to them.

Her talisman glows in the midst of the black storm with powerful, silver light; and that can only mean one thing: her Queen. Sailor Moon appears, three Guardians in tow; a triumphant look on their faces.

But she catches on quickly.

"Where is Tuxedo Kamen...and Chibiusa?!" she asks, desiring for their presence as much as Pluto does.

Pain is etched in both their eyes as they attempt to find them, as she finds Luna-P, Small Lady's precious toy, broken, now, like their friendship.

 _I promise you, Small Lady._

She feels tears prick her eyes as Sailor Moon also cries, then faints from exhaustion.

Pluto has never felt so close to her Queen until now.

Falling in love with the Earth, it's richness, purity, complexity, winds, oceans, soil; falling in love with its soul. Yearning every minute for their loved ones, acknowledged and unacknowledged. The pain for not being with them.

 _I...Gomene._

* * *

Twelve hours, fourteen minutes, and twenty-three seconds.

Small Lady has vanished into space. Or worse.

 _My fault_.

Her body aches with pain, is sore from the storm, and worries and worries and worries. Small Lady. Tuxedo Kamen. If he dies, then King Endymion...he will surely disappear.

The future hangs upon the present; the present hangs upon the past.

Thousands of different ways destiny could have gone. Thousands, and fate gave her this role. Never before has she felt so powerless.

Diana watches her from behind, says in an innocent voice not too unsimilar to Small Lady's, "Pluto, _daijoubu_?"

Sailor Pluto disguises herself as the Guardian of Space and Time, a warrior, a Senshi powerful and glorious; the Protector of the Underworld, the daughter of Chronos.

"I am alright, Diana. You're sweet, just like your master." A thin smile is forced onto her face as she tickles Diana's purple fur.

" _Diana, Small Lady is very precious to me. She's our only Princess, so give her all your love."_

Small Lady. Doubt clouds her vision like the dark storm of distortion, and her heart yearns to be with the ones she loves, not to be stranded here in this sacred land, as she's thought so many times before, unable to fight with the Sailor Senshi tasked with the duty of protecting her Queen and her Princess. And her King.

She's lost count how many times she's cursed fate. This time, she curses herself for not protecting her daughter not of her blood, the daughter she will never have.

* * *

The time comes, as it always does.

But now, everything goes wrong.

And she prays to the Moon and to her father, once again; because a large crystal has exploded once again; and Small Lady is still nowhere to be found; and she imagines scenarios of murder or of torture and she _worries_.

It's all she does now, chained to an invisible post. To the door of Space-Time. Protector.

 _The Queen is beautiful, and kind. She touches her stray hair and shoulders, explaining clearly her duties._

When she was a child, her father would tell her stories of Sailor Pluto, of how a solitary Guardian protected the world from chaos and distortion without complaint. With ease and power. With strength and the embracement of her duty.

" _Pluto, you are the soldier of time and space. And there are some parts of your job that are taboo to commit."_

When she was a child, her father would train her in their closet; lock her inside and tell her to wait, or to pray when she was losing her strength.

" _First, you must never cross over time. Time travel, using these keys, is strictly forbidden."_

And so she prays to tell her father what to do. To awaken, perhaps a second time, that maybe there is another power inside of her, breathing and shaking for the hour of enlightenment.

Her chest tightens with anxiety, burning at her flesh like Mars's flames. Her feet cannot move from this Godforsaken door; this stranded island of privileged duty and pain. She closes her eyes harshly, her faith in Sailor Moon to save those they both love (and are in love with).

" _Second, you are never to abandon your station. You must remain here to guard the Space-Time Door."_

 _Endymion._

 _Small Lady._

How she wishes to open the door and run, her feet flying and quickly destroying the enemy. How she wishes to stand beside Sailor Moon, her future Queen, and fight alongside her. How she wishes things were different.

" _And third…"_

And her chest aches so harshly her heart feels like it shatters.

* * *

"Small Lady has defected! She's now the Queen of the Black Moon!"

The pain, loneliness cannot compare to the rejection of unrequited love. For now, there is a love to mourn where the latter consisted of merely wishful rebellion against fate.

Diana is as sweet as her owner, who still exists, Pluto convinces herself.

Sailor Pluto sees much of herself in Small Lady. She sees Pluto in her lonely eyes, in her helpless stagnation. She sees Pluto in her innocence, when her wishes were deemed possible underneath fate's watchful eye. She sees Pluto as she smiles, and when she frowns. This is how she knows: Small Lady exists in the same darkness that consumed Pluto into coldness before the child came to give her warmth. A darkness named Loneliness and Hatred.

" _Arigatou_ , Diana. You're so sweet, just like Small Lady."

Endymion sees her as she exits the doorway and into the sleeping Queen's room. "Pluto?"

"Diana is guarding the Doorway. The situation is dire. There is no time to argue." Lavender cloak, blue eyes, the salty ocean breeze in his hair. She is too deep in love with the Silver Millennium family; with adoration for her Queen, with a love for the Earth's soul, with a kindred spirit of her Princess. This is her duty, what she has always wanted to be her duty: fight for those she loves, protecting them. Her heart swells, with pain, with excitement, with anticipation.

The King nods, agreeing. "Let us fight as we can."

She runs, the chains of her post disappearing behind her; with the destiny to fight with the others, to save those she loves against the enemy.

* * *

No. This is not Small Lady.

This figure, resonating with dark magic, has long, pink hair and red eyes. A full body, curved and explicit; a long slit in her dress for her legs.

This person is not who she loves. She swallows the rising bile in her throat and fights the urge to sob, like she did, seeing her loved one and her Princess die before her.

Her head is spinning with sorrow, her heart hollow. The vertigo pounds at her chest. Her knees shake.

 _Small Lady._

A large shout interrupts her thoughts.

"Now that I have both past and future crystals, I can travel time freely to make the world I want!"

Both her and the King gasp. _If they collide…_

Small Lady comes nearer, yelling, "Give that back to me!"

By instinct, she screams, "Small Lady!" But they heed no warning.

The danger. The pain. The unchangeable consequences, and unstoppable distortion of space and time.

Sailor Pluto knows what she must do, as the enemy draws the two _Ginzuishous_ closer. There is no other option.

Time becomes slower as she makes her decision.

 _Small Lady._

 _King Endymion._

* * *

"Time! Stop!"

The Garnet Orb glows with brilliance.

 _Time! Stop! By the power of my father, Chronos!_

Pluto feels her heart stop with her command.

" _The third taboo is that you must never allow time to come to a stop."_

As time shakes and slows, so does she.

" _If you violate the taboos…"_

As time and space shatter or distort with confusion and pain, so does she.

" _You will die."_

And as time stops, so does she.

This is what she wanted,

" _Pluto,_

to fight alongside them,

" _I love you!"_

to do something, was it not?

Is this the price she must pay,

" _You are…"_

to save the ones she loves?

" _My only friend."_

* * *

Her body clatters to the ground like her Rod.

It's done. She has done it. She stopped time, the Ultimate Taboo.

Shouts arise, murky and unclear. Sailor Moon, her Queen, hovers above her; her blue eyes filled with pain and concern. _Now is not the time to cry yet, Sailor Moon._

"Sailor Moon…" She battles against the exertion. "You must retrieve the crystals before the effects wear off. Please, hurry!"

She sees the tears, like Neo-Queen Serenity's as she kissed her daughter good night, escape her eyes; only a sliver before they disappear. Pain, she sees, is a hidden emotion for the Queen.

"Pluto." Her voice shakes. "I retrieved both crystals, look."

"I'm so relieved." Her Queen has always loved her, she knows; and in return, Pluto has always loved her. "I have always wanted to make a stand, to fight with you." Pure adoration, like in Endymion's eyes, like in Small Lady's eyes, fills her own. "Sailor Moon...I have always longed to be close to you, my Queen... _onegai_...rescue Small Lady!"

Raspy coughs rack against her chest, and slowly, slowly, as time returns, her heart slows. The rich voice of her first love attempts to encourage her.

"Just a little longer, Pluto...you can hang on," he pleads.

"King…this choice, this sacrifice, this crime...is my choice. For everyone's sake. Now, it is time to face the consequences."

She calls Diana, a child who voices her sadness at the sight of her. "Pluto?"

" _Arigatou_ , Diana."

"You've got to hang on, Pluto!" Diana pleads as well.

Pluto knows it is time.

"King...I carried out my duties with honor."

His eyes...look so sad.

"King." And she realizes how she never left the rabbit hole; how she was stranded there as soon as she saw the Earth, its blue oceans the color of his eyes, its rich soil the smell of his skin, its whispering winds the sound of his voice, its night the color of his hair, its dawn and twilight the color of his cloak, of the sunrise in the early morning.

She tastes his tears as he whispers, "Pluto."

"I'm sorry...I couldn't protect you as well as I should have, Small Lady…"

 _You are_

Her hand carries their promise: a simple, yet powerful key.

 _My only_

"Small Lady…"

 _Friend._

The time comes. As it inevitably does. It will not stop without her.

 _I love you._

* * *

 **Thank you for reading...**

 **Did I make you cry? It is my personal belief that writers relish in the tears of readers. Just want to know, haha.**

 **Button below?**


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